Romi Mayes
Lucky Tonight
MeM Records MMACD 1045
****
AH
Kick Ass Blues from the type of woman my Mother warned me about.
Romi Mayes Christian name is pronounced ‘Raw-me’ and a finer description of her singing and playing style I couldn’t make up; as her 5th album is just that – Raw.
All of the songs are so strong I presumed that they were a Greatest Hits set; but apparently not. Teaming up with ‘guitar demon’ Jay Nowicki the two recorded this album of brand new material at a sold out concert in Winnipeg on a freezing cold Winter’s evening in 2010 with only the addition of the occasional kick and snare drum from Ken McMahon.
Title track Lucky Tonight owes a lot to the Mary Chapin-Carpenter song of the same name; but this sounds more like Janis Joplin jamming with a pre-addictions Eric Clapton and Make You Love Me is as smouldering and sexy as the Blues ever gets as Romi lets her man know that she wants him and, by Jove she’s going to get him and send him back home a quivering mess.
Nowicki’s guitar playing throughout is staggering and baring in mind it’s generally only the two of them playing their electric guitars it made me wonder why anyone bothers a backing band!
Album closer, I Will finds Romi playing the electric piano and pleading with her lover not to let her leave him and is as fine an ending to an album as I’ve heard in years.
This is a ‘live’ album and as such the production leaves a little to be desired but I would give my left testicle to hear an album by Romi Mayes and a full band produced by some hot shot Producer in Chicago because it would take the Blues World by storm.
Look out World – Romi Mayes is coming!
